Ostomy bags, such as urostomy, ileostomy and colostomy bags, are used to collect bodily waste draining from a stomal opening in the patient's body wall. Ostomy bags can be secured to the patient by means of a belt or strap, and/or adhesive, but more usually they are affixed to the patient by means of an adhesive flange which surrounds the stomal orifice.
For many ostomy bag wearers, the stomal opening is sited in a recess in the body wall. This may be a consequence of patient weight gain after intestinal surgery or the particular surgery performed. In such cases it is preferable to use an ostomy bag appliance wherein the body contacting surface is substantially convex in shape in order that the skin surrounding the opening of the stoma is contacted and adhered to the adhesive surface of the appliance. Such ostomy bag devices have become known as “convexity” appliances.
In the past, “convexity” appliances have created a number of problems. Commonly, manufacture involves the use of injection moulded plastics to form a rigid and often inflexible convex body attachment piece.
Unfortunately, such products are not only expensive to make but have led to a range of patient complaints resulting from the pressure required to fix the device in place. These include inter alia, skin damage, such as ulceration and bruising, and general discomfort. Not only are such devices difficult to attach to the body wall so that the stomal orifice is aligned with the opening in the ostomy bag, but they do not accommodate the full range of body movements, such as reaching and bending, and therefore can lead to a loss of adhesion between the device and the body or further physical discomfort. Furthermore, the rigid edge of the moulding in the region of the orifice can damage the stoma.
A further problem with many known ostomy devices is that, as a consequence of their relative rigidity, it is often necessary to apply paste to pack out the region behind the ostomy bag so as to ensure an adequate seal between the ostomy bag flange and the skin surrounding the patient's stoma. When the ostomy bag is changed, it is then necessary to wash off the residual paste and applying fresh paste before fixing a new ostomy bag. Thus the procedures for applying ostomy bags, in many certain circumstances, are somewhat protracted and messy.
It has also been found that such devices are difficult to cut to suit the patient. Therefore, the manufacturer must supply a range of pre-cut devices to suit each patient.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a convexity appliance which is more comfortable, is easier to apply to the body wall and is simpler to manufacture.